During the last few years, considerable developments have been made in the arena of server management. An industry standard called Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), described in, e.g., “IPMI: Intelligent Platform Management Interface Specification, Second Generation,” v.2.0, Feb. 12, 2004, defines a protocol, requirements and guidelines for implementing a management solution for server-class computer systems. The features provided by the IPMI standard include power management, system event logging, environmental health monitoring using various sensors, watchdog timers, field replaceable unit information, in-band and out of band access to the management controller, SNMP traps, etc.
A component that is normally included in a server-class computer to implement the IPMI standard is known as a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). A BMC is a specialized microcontroller embedded on the motherboard of the computer, which manages the interface between the system management software and the platform hardware. The BMC generally provides the “intelligence” in the IPMI architecture.
Most server-class computer systems on the market today have system components that require a firmware image to make them operational. “Firmware” is software that is stored in a read-only memory (ROM) (which may be reprogrammable), such as a ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc. Some examples of such components that require firmware are BMCs, the system basic input/output system (BIOS), storage controllers (e.g., SCSI/SAS/Fibre Channel components), and network interface controllers (NICs). These firmware images typically reside in the system flash memory where the BIOS resides or in component-specific flash parts.
As with any mechanical components, these system components can experience an operational problem that either degrades drive read-write performance or causes a drive failure. Some problems relate to drive firmware or hardware, including magnetic media, spin motor, read/write head assembly or drive circuitry. Such firmware and hardware problems generally dictate that the disk drive be returned to the original manufacturer for repair or replacement. Other potential problems are user-related, and often result from software problems within the storage operating system or user applications.
When operating in the server, the version of the installed firmware is customized and fully compatible to the peripheral IO of the motherboard. The settings of the firmware are typically aligned with the configuration of the chassis where it was installed. However, upon return of the system component after repair, the firmware may have been upgraded or downgraded during repair, i.e. configured in a repair mode. In addition, when providing a replacement or new system component, the firmware may be upgraded or downgraded relative to the original firmware, i.e. in a factory mode.
Restoration of the system component to its user mode with custom settings requires manually saving and restoring the system component settings and manually upgrading or downgrading reversion of the firmware per the customer's profile. However, manually performing these tasks can be burdensome in regards to costs and maintenance.